Risking life and landslide, I decided to haul ass to Glasgow last weekend for the Glasgow Comic Con. A relatively small con in its second year, the event was hosted by the boys from Black-Hearted Press in the Mackintosh Church on the outskirts of the city.
I lost an hour or so in Hope Street Studios, but when I returned Jim Starlin was signing, and the gentleman happily chatted and signed issues of 'Death In The Family' that I remember hiding for fear my mother would spy the battered carcass of Jason Todd, skin and circus colors in ribbons, and ban me from reading them. When I look back at that artwork, dated by fashion and yellowed with time, what I remember is the intensity of the reading experience.
Highlights also included discussing the thyroid problems of Grant Morrison's cat (with the man himself) and getting an informal portfolio session with Eddie Deighton from Com.X. Eddie gave some great advice on what I was doing right in my art but - more importantly - what I was doing wrong, and I managed to pick up some of their output (Seeds and BlueSpear). So far I've only read Seeds by Ross Mackintosh, but it impressed me, concerning itself with tackling a potentially overwhelming grief with good humor and domestic ritual (look out for the recurring hand-soap motif). All in all, quite hypnotic.
Unfortunately I missed people I wanted to catch up with (Colin Bell of the wonderful Jonbot vs. Martha and Detective SpaceCat - who I'm happy to report did a sterling trade) and Jim Alexander, due to lanyard malfunction and scheduling duels. But hopefully that can be rectified at future conventions. Glasgow is an exciting place to be right now if you're a comic creator, and if I have to develop a functional Boom tube, I will be in attendance next year.
Thanks to John and the rest of the team at Blackhearted Press for a great time.
OJ
OX
